1. Field of Invention:
This invention relates generally to devices for extracting liquid lipids from aqueous food products, and more particularly to a culinary implement capable of extracting liquid fats from an aqueous food mixture having fats dispersed therein.
2. Status of Art:
Lipid is an all-inclusive term for fats and fat-like substances. It includes all materials that are relatively insoluble in water but are soluble in fat solvents such as acetone.
Modern nutritionists are greatly concerned with fats in the diet, for these play an important role in the cholesterol level in the blood. Current dietary guidelines recommend that the fat intake be cut down in order to reduce the risk of heart disease and possibly cancer. While there is some question as to the extent to which fats contribute to cholesterol level, for this depends on the nature of the fat, there is no argument as to the high caloric content of fats. Thus, to avoid obesity, modern "nouvelle cuisine" and "lean meal" diets are low in fat.
Fats fall into two general classes, for a fat is either saturated or unsaturated. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature, such as those prevalent in meats, butter and cheese. These fats become liquid only when heated. Unsaturated fats are those which are liquid at room temperature and include polyunsaturated fats, such as soybean oil and corn oil, and monounsaturated fats such as olive oil and peanut oil.
While the present informed view is that some unsaturated fats have beneficial effects, whereas most unsaturated fats, save in relatively small quantities, are not to be recommended, regardless of their nature fats usually have a very high caloric content. It is therefore generally desirable, in the interest of weight control, to remove most of the fats from the prepared food.
Thus, in preparing chicken soup by boiling a chicken in water to which diced vegetables may have been added, the resultant soup is an aqueous mixture which is rich in chicken fat. Because the fat is insoluble, it is dispersed in the soup and much of it floats on the surface. The present practice is to extract the fat by skimming the surface of the soup. This is a relatively messy and time consuming procedure, particularly when the soup is being prepared in large quantities in a restaurant or commissary.
And in preparing meat dishes of various kinds in a pot in which saturated fat from the heated meat is liquefied, a similar problem arises if one wishes to remove liquid fat from the pot.